Superintendent's Notebook:
Lifelong Learning Has Many Rewards
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"This time of year, I hear a common refrain around the halls of the schools: “School will soon be over, I don’t have to learn anything all summer” or “I’m graduating, I never have to go to class again.” I get it. Shedding the weight of rigid schedules, homework and tests has its appeal, and this time of year can be pretty darn exciting.
That said, I hope the excitement of summer vacation or graduation (or retirement, for that matter) won’t blur our perspective on learning. I hope our students (and all of us) will find that learning is a lifelong endeavor filled with joy and excitement. The fact is, we are always learning new things. As adults, our jobs change and we learn new responsibilities and systems. If we discover a new hobby, don’t we immerse ourselves in learning how to do it right?"
Click here to read the full article from Superintendent Potenziano
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The Maine DOE Awards $2.5 Million in RREV Funding
Harriet Beecher Stowe School Awarded $250,000
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The Maine Department of Education awarded $2.5 million in Rethinking Responsive Education Ventures (RREV) funding to support education innovation.
Harriet Beecher Stowe School has been awarded a total of $250,000. The newly proposed outdoor learning spaces at HBS provide place-based hands-on learning resources for children and teachers, nature-based play areas, eliminates barriers to accessibility, and will strengthen local ecological systems. HBS students and teachers, in partnership with CREA (Cathance River Education Alliance Education Center), will participate in outdoor science units.
Some of their pilot ideas include:
- A greenhouse to be used with historical and pollinator gardens to accompany our social studies and science units. The hope is to use a teacher residency program to have someone side by side with teachers instructing children and helping teachers learn more about how to use this new resource.
- Nature-based play areas on the playground. The grassy knoll area we are hoping to update with more areas to crawl, climb, and be accessed by all children. Ideas include native plants and shrubs, walking paths, and maybe even a "tree house".
- An outdoor amphitheater space to be accessed by all.
Click here to read the full media release from the MDOE.
Click here to view the map of all RREV recipients.
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Between June 2 and June 9, there were 26 new COVID-19 cases in the Brunswick School Department: |
Cumulative statistics on all COVID-19 cases during the 2021-22 school year are available on the COVID-19 Dashboard.
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Positive COVID-19 Test Results |
Until the last day of school, please remember to notify your school nurse when you/your child tests positive for COVID-19. We have developed school-specific forms to complete when your/your child tests positive for COVID. Links to the forms are on the school webpages. Simply click the REPORT POSITIVE COVID-19 TEST RESULTS on your school’s webpage. Links to each form can also be found on the district webpage and below:
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Summer Program Health Protocols |
The Brunswick School Department is fortunate to have many summer academic and athletic programs available to our students. During these summer programs, we will maintain all current health and safety protocols. These include self-monitoring and staying home when sick, washing hands frequently, and maintaining as much ventilation as possible. A nurse will be on staff during summer academic programs. However, since she is one person covering a variety of programs throughout the district, she will be focusing on emergent situations.
We will not be collecting positive COVID-19 test results after June 16 and during the summer. We are asking all members of the Brunswick school community to take appropriate actions when they test positive for COVID-19. This means:
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Testing when they have symptoms (at-home rapid antigen tests are available for free through Project ACT and Covid.gov and are sold in stores).
- Isolating for at least five (5) days after testing positive.
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Stopping isolation on day 6 only if they are no longer testing positive and are not experiencing symptoms.
- Wearing a well-fitting, quality mask on days 6-10.
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2022-2023 Health Protocols |
On August 9, the District Health Team will convene to review and assess the prevalence of COVID-19 in the community and to decide on appropriate health and safety protocols for the start of the 2022-23 school year. We will communicate these protocols as soon as they are available. |
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Big Success for Nanosatellite Team |
The BHS CubeSat Team was one of 5 highschools who were finalists in USM's Cubesat Design Competition this year. A CubeSat is a square-shaped miniature satellite, roughly the size of a Rubik's cube and used for research. The team, composed of Fiona Edmonda, Michael Kenyon, Gabriel Eaton, Felicity Jackson, Nate Lavigne, Kat Wells & Harry Yee, have been working on their mission since last fall, meeting on Saturday mornings and attending field trips to USM to assemble their cubesat. Their mission, Gamma Draconis (named after the brightest star in the Draco constellation - a homage to the BHS Dragon mascot!), used a small 3D printed satellite equipped with sensors to detect levels of radiation at different altitudes on its journey to the upper levels of the stratosphere. The cubesats were launched via weather balloon from USM in Lewiston at 7 AM this past Saturday and reached an altitude of about 24 miles above sea level. The team hopes to have the opportunity to participate in another launch next year and extend upon this mission. They are interested in measuring atmospheric composition to determine the relationship between ozone depletion, pollution and how it affects the levels of radiation passing through our atmosphere. |
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Brunswick's New Strategic Planning Process |
The Brunswick School Department is currently working on a new strategic plan. We have partnered with Hanover Research and one of our primary areas of focus will be Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. This new strategic planning process will allow BSD to reevaluate the district's priorities and set new goals for future years. To keep up to date on the process, please visit our website under strategic planning or view the planning process by clicking here.
If you have an interest in participating in the strategic planning process please
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BCEF Awards Multiple Grants to BSD Teachers
Grants Awarded Total $63,000
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Brunswick Community Education Foundation (BCEF) has awarded BSD with a total of twenty individual grants. Six of those are multi-year grants and will fund a variety of projects across the district. The total amount awarded to BSD was $63,000!
Some of the various projects include:
- Makerspace materials for the KFS library.
- Field trips for 5th grade classrooms to visit the the ship "Virginia" in Bath.
- Mouthpieces for instruments at BHS.
- A school wide membership to Ruth's Reusable Resources for KFS.
- Books in various languages.
- And more!
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Thank you BCEF! We appreciate all the grants and look forward to sharing some of our stories with the community. |
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Visit our website to view all current employment opportunities with the Brunswick School Department or click the button below! |
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